Our website uses cookies to improve your user experience. If you continue browsing, we assume that you consent to our use of cookies. More information can be found in our Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

Global paid search spend increased in 2013: stats

Covario has just issued its Global Paid Search Spend Analysis for Q4 2013, revealing that global spend on pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has increased by 13% from Q3 and 7% year-on-year.

Paid search on mobile also had an incredible 2013, with impressive numbers recorded for Android, iPhone and iPad activations. Total advertising spend on mobile grew 23% in Q4 2013 from Q3. This is 55% up from the same period in 2012.

Keyword pricing wise, the average cost-per-click (CPC) came down in Q4 2013, however the average CPC rose 10% versus the same period in 2012.

Here’s the global paid search activity for Q4 2013:

Regional

The USA’s search spend was up 17% quarter-on-quarter and 9% year-on-year.

However Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) showed a small decline in search spend, with quarter-over-quarter spend declining 1% and year-on-year declining 8%. This possibly due to an overall decline CPCs.

Ad effectiveness has improved in EMEA though, with a 60% increase in click-through-rates (CTR) compared to 2012.

The Asia/Pacific region (APAC) showed a 5% rise in search spend over Q3 and by 21% year-on-year. This was driven by a 13% rise in CTRs and a 20% rise in click traffic.

Search engines

Google continues to dominate with 84% of the world’s paid search market share. Advertising spend in Q4 with Google was up 7% from the previous year.

This is an exercise in trying to figure out whether or not retargeting can be done effectively and responsibly.

Much like similar posts where I looked at native advertising and content marketing, this is also a ‘beginner’s guide’ in which I uncover what is meant by the term retargeting, how it works and what I generally consider to be ‘best practice’.

First of all, let me tell you of my own experience of retargeting and the almost detrimental effect it had on my marriage proposal.

With multiple facets to optimise for higher conversions, ecommerce brands often treat on-site search as an afterthought. As a result, 72% of desktop ecommerce search engines cannot return relevant results for queries containing synonyms, misspelt words or searches using a model number. By failing to address the search experience, you are losing customers, especially when […]